Experiments and observations on the danger of copper and bell-metal in pharmaceutical and chemical preparations [electronic resource]

A

EXPERIMENTS

AND

Obfervations

ON THE DANGER OF

COPPER and BELL-METAL

I N

Pharmaceutical and Chemical Preparations :

B Y

WILLIAM BLIZARD,

Fellow of the Antiquary Society ; Surgeon to the London
ilofpital ; and Ledturer in Anatomy, Phyfiology,
and Surgery.

Prodejfe quam con/pci.

LONDON:
Printed, by J. W. Galabiic,
For C. D I L L Y, in the P.o u i, x R r.

M.DCC.LXXXTI.

( 3 )

PREFACE.

"^Ij^HETHER mankind be obedient to the di£lates of
NATURE only, or whether they pay deference to
the divine precepts of Christianity, they will ftill learn
that the great duty of man is, to do all the good he can to his
fellow-creatures. Nor are there many without fome fenfe of
this duty ; without feeling fome degree of impulfe to be
ufeful. But various caufes operate againft the exercife of
beneficence. Religion appears In all its beauty as pro-
viding againft thefe caufes : among the moft prevalent of
which ftands Pride. — Who, of the learned and the
great, would choofe a bell-metal mortar for his theme ?
Yet the value of every work fhould be eftimated by its
ufefulnefs to mankind ; and utility will ever refledl dignity
on any fubjedt.

A 2 The

( 4 )

The importance ofthe following remarks will appear from
confiderations of the value of health and life. They were
written about feventeen years fmce, and were fix years ago
fcntto the learned Dr. Duncan, at Edinburgh, who al-
lotted them the honour of a place in the 7th vol. of his
valuable Medical Commentaries. The principal evil ex-
pofed in them ftill exifts : this juftifies the prefent form
of publication; for which the alterations and additions
might be offered as an apology.

Lime-Jireet^ yiineii^y 1 786.

EXPERIMENTS

( s )

EXPERIMENTS

AND

OBSERVATIONS, &c.

PHYSICIANS have been long acquainted with the
dangerous quality of copper ; andhave of late years
humanely condemned the ufe of copper veffels in •
culinary preparations. Is it not then ftrange, although
they well underftand the pernicious efFedls of this
metal, and even provide againft them in the department of
the cook, they ftiould yet fufFer the fhops of apothecaries
and elaboratories of chemifts to abound with copper and
bell-metal utenfils ?*

A 3 Bell-metal

* The notoriety of the mifchievous eflfefts of CoprzR precludes the ne-
ceflity of adducing inftances.— To defcribe , the Jymptms, Sec, of a bane-
ful dofe would be unneceflary to the medical reader, and of no ufe to others,

unleis

( 6 )

Bell-metal may be ranked with copper, in regard
to its confequences in the body, fmce the proportion of this
metal in its compofition is, I am informed, as two
to three. It appears alfo, from the following experiments,
that bell-metal is foluble in nearly the fame menjlrm with
copper. The inferences, therefore, deducible from con-
fiderations of the danger of the one, muft hold good in re-
fpe£t of the other.

I.

Five grains of the filings of a common bell-metal mor-
tar were put to half an ounce of river-water, with half a
dram of marine fait. Five grains of the filings of a
hal^enny were added to the fame quantity of the like mix-
ture.

II.

Five grains of the filings of bell-metal were added to
half an ounce of diftilled vinegar ; five grains of a half-
penny were put to an equal quantity of the fame fluid.

III.

nnlefs the treatment alfo were explained ; all which is foreign to the defign of this
little paper ; the fimple objedt of which is, to prove that copper and bell-me-
tal utenfils may impart their metallic quality to medicines 5 the general hurt-
fiil tendency of that quality is received as a datum.

( 7 )

III.

Five grains of the filings of the two metals were put to
half an ounce of common vinegar.*

The phials, containing the above, were examined after
a few days, and appearances were as follow j viz.

The mixtures marked

No. I. were as blue as aqua fapphirlna diluted with about
an equal part of water, and the two phials were as equal-
ly fo as the eye could determine.

No. II. were ftrongly, and about equally, tinted be-
tween a blue and green, but not fo deeply as No. I.

No. III. had a greenifh tint j but that with copper was
ftronger than the one of bell-metal.

The danger which may refult from the ufe of copper vef-
fels, in preparations of the kitchen, is not comparable with
that which is to be dreaded from them in thofe of the che-
mift or apothecary J fmce, in the firft cafe, excepting fait

and

Salt and vinegar were ufed bscaufe culinary as well as pharmaceuti-
cal articles.

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and vinegar, few articles of a very corroding nature w
fubjedt to the treatment of tlie cook ; whereas, to the a-
pothecary belongs the management of materials of every
quality. Befides, a perfon in health Is lefs liable to feel the
effeds of what is baneful than a valetudinarian, whofe or-
gans are weak, and readily thrown into diforder. The
following circumftances gave rife to thefe refledtions and
experiments.

Some coralium rubrum was powdered in a bell-metal
mortar, fifted, and levigated, after the manner of treating
fuch like articles of the Materia Medica. The operator
then proceeded to the waftiing of It, as It is termed, /. e,
the feparating of the fine from the coarfe by ablutions with
water. In this procefs, he applied fome of the coral to
his tongue, to afcertain its degree of tenuity, and thought
he difcovered a flavour of copper ; but the exiftence of this
metal in the mafs was prefently confirmed by the appear-
ance of fome particles of the mortar among the coarfe co-
ral remaining in the veflsl, which, upon its detachment,
proved to be pretty confiderable In quantity.

Left it ftiould be alleged that the mortar, wherein the
coral was powdered, was of a peculiar compofition, it

may

C 9 )

may be proper to remark, that, upon tlie falreft (JomparU
Tons, it appeared to be of the like kind with other bell-me-
tal mortars.

From thefe circumftances, may we not juftly apprehend
that many of the triturated preparations are impregnated
with Gopper ? But we will confiJer other alarming fads
that prove this fufpicion to be too well founded.

To determine whether they were really particles of me-
tal that appeared with the coarfe coral, the following ex-
periments were made.

EXPERIMENT 1.

The particIeS) feparated from the coral, appearing like

copper, and weighing about four or five grains, were put

to two drams of fpiritus falis ammon'iaci ; a high fapphirine

colour prefently took place, which increafed in depth till

the particles were diflblved,
«

EXPERIMENT 11.
A few grains of the filings of the mortar were put to
two drams of fpiritus falis ammoniaci ; a fapphirine colour,
as in the preceding experiment, was foon produced.

B EXPERIMENT

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EXPERIMENT III.

A few grains of verdegris were added to two drams dT
fpiritus falis ammoniaci ; a fine blue colour was diredly ob-
tained, fimilar to that In the former experiment.

Do not thefe experiments amount to a proof of the ex-
iftence of copper among the coral ?

If particles, as large as grains of fand, were depofited
with the coarfe coral, as was the cafe, we may conclude
that much fmaller ones, not difcoverable by the naked eye,
remained fufpended with the fine; for extenfion of the
furfaces of bodies will enable them to fwim in fluids fpeci*
fically lighter than themfelves.

The fubfequent experiment evinced this fa£l.

EXPERIMENT IV.

One dram of the prepared coral, with two fpiritus faFis
ammoniaci^ prefently exhibited a blue appearance j which,
though not by much fo deep as the folution, Experiment I.
was yet as high as any aqua fapphirina I ever faw.

Thefe experiments were fo fatisfaftory to the apotheca-
ry, under whofe infpeition they were made, that he inftant-

( »I )

ly ordered iron mortars to be procured, in place of bell-me-
tal, proved to be dangerous.

I took one dram of the prepared coral, and it excited a
flight degree of naufea. But be it remembered, that the phy-
fician prefcribes for the fick,and thofe unable to combat with
any powerful ftimulus. And is it not an alarming confi-
deration, that what is intended as a pacific remedy may
prove an auxiliary to a difeafe already hard to be fuftained ?
This, it is to be feared, muft be the cafe, when coral, or
other abforbents, which have undergone trituration in bell-
metal mortars, are given in diarrhceas^ or to check vio-
lent vomiting, or in bowel-complaints of children. The
cupreous impregnation, which thefe powders, thus prepa-
red, may acquire, cannot but prove a moft dangerous fti-
mulus to the ftomach and inteftines in an inflamed, ten-
der, or abraded ftate.*

B 2 But,

• A man fpends the greater part of his life in learning the ecconomy of
the human body, under the various circumftances of health and difeafe : he
then profefTes to exercife his knowledge for the relief of his fellow-creatures,
p— is called to the fick, — meditates upon their complaints, — and confcien-
tioufly prefcribes medicine for them. But why all this ftudy and labour,
if regard be' not had to the truth and faithfulntft of the means prefcrU
bed !

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But, if the evil be not general, conclufions of a general
nature" would be improper ; the univerfality of it then is nex|
to be confidered. But no one will deny the univerfal ufe of
bell-metal mortars. The inquiry therefore refts, Whe^
ther the mortars of others are equally fufceptible of abra*
fion with that in the above inftance ?

I procured prepared coral from feveral apothecaries ;
fome afforded a bluifh tincture in the volatile alkali ; other
a yellow colour. Some crabs claws gave the fame kind of
yellow tinge; other crabs claws imparted a greenifti tinc-
ture. Powder of hartftiorn, which I had from different
apothecaries^ afforded a light blue tint in fpirit of fal ammo-
niac,*

If we admit the inferences from the firfl and fecond ex-s
periments, we may conclude, that the blue colour in
the fubfequent ones was derived from copper. What oc-
cafioned the yellow tinge from fome of the coral I cannot
fay; but this I mufl obferve, that the coral which gave it
had not the marks of being genuine, f The green in the

chela

* Burnt hartfhorn can hardly be brought in contadt with bell-metal \yith-
out receiving a cupreous taint.

■|- Would it not be juft to annex fines, or even corporal punifhnient, to the
crime of adulteration of medicines ? The butcher and baker ought to be held

in

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chela cancrorum was but little remote from the blue In the
other experiments. -

The

in proper fubjeftion, left our common articles of food /hould be unwhol-
fome. But it is unimportant whether a man be poifoned by a flice of bread
or a dofe of phyfic.—The druggtft-apotbecaries, now to be found in almoft
every ftreet, ivbo make up prefcripliom on very low terms, require the ftridteft
attention. A defire of gain is, at all times, too apt to efface fentiments of
honour and the finer feelings of humanity ; but, when it can be gratified
j)y fraud, without hardly a chance of deteftion, many, it is to be feared,
want VIRTUE to refift its force. Nor are the effedls oflcNOBANCE among
|the druggiji-apothecaries to be overlooked. I remember a dreadful miftake
of one of thefe perfons about twelve years fince. A phyfician diredled fome
Jal rupell, to be diflblved in water for a young lady. The compounder faid

he fuppofed Jal, &c. meant a/umen rupeum" which he employed : the child
died, Thefe circumftances wpre not learnt till too late. — Why do not
the three branches of the profeffion unite in forming a committee of inqui-
ry into a// the irregularities praftifed in the profeflion ? The fafety of the
public, (the end for which they were refpeftively incorporated,) demands it.
The legiflature ^yould, undoubtedly, in their wifdom, fupport meafures calcu-
lated to preferve the lives, health, and happinefs, of the community.

The elaboratories of chemifts are fubjedl: to the infpedlion of the members
of the College of Phyficlans. But the finiftcr praftices of chemifts can hardly
be difcovcred iut by examinations into their PR octssEs. Moft of the country
praiftitioners, many of the country hofpitals, and fome of the large hofpitals 5n
thefe cities, are fuppUed with chemical preparations from chemifts in Lon-
don, Surely the magnitude and extent of the evils, that may flow from this
fource, demand as much attention as the adulteration of wines, or any other
article of luxury.

I

( 14 )

The adhering membrane in crabs daws gives a yellow
tindlure.

From what has appeared, it cannot be doubted that bell-
metal mortars are liable to be abraded by hard fubftances
powdered in them. If any one fliould difpute the faft, let
him rub fome powder of burnt hartfliorn, coral, or crabs
claws, in a bell-metal mortar, and afterwards try it by a
- proper criterion, (the beft, I fuppofe, htht volatile alkali^)
and he muft certainly admit the truth of what has been re-
marked.

If the above facts, and inferences from them, fliould
be admitted, the neceffity of an immediate regulation in
the chefts of army and navy furgeons will appear in a very
ftriking light ; for, army and navy medicine-chefts are con-
ftantly fupplied with bell-metal mortars, and with no other
of metal.

But it is probable that what has been advanced may be
difregarded, becaufe generally known. The ifnportance of
the obfervations none can deny. Their being admitted im-
plies fliameful fupinenefs in thofe whofe duty it is to inquire
intofuch matters, fmcethe evil complained of is not corred-
ed.t

To

J Subterfuges for this omiflion maybe attempted.—- The fanftion of time
may be pleaded in defence of the praitice arraigned 5 but this can have little

weight

( 15 )

To determine whether a blue colour would fucceed on
digefting the unpulverized ingredients in the volatile alkali,
I put fome coral, crabs claws, he. broken in pieces, into
fpirit of fal amtnoniac^ and, after fufFering them to digeft
many days, examined the fpirit, and found it limpid and co-
lourlefs, excepting a yellowifh caft in that with the crabs
claws, which was undoubtedly from the adherent mem-
brane, as already hinted.

There is a difficulty in difcovering copper, in many drugs,
on account of the colour they impart to menjiriia^ by
which the teft becomes obfcure ; but reafon teaches us,
that all hard fubftances are liable, through attrition, to a-
brade bell-metal, whereby they will become laden with
metallic particles. Admit, however, the pojjibility of this
efFedt taking place, is it not a diftrefling refledlion, that we
may pojfibly be giving poison while we reft fecure in the ad-
miniftration of medicines in themfelves harmlefs ?

I have hitherto confidered bell-metal mortars as fubjefl
to abrafion only ; but they may impart a poifonous quality

to

Weight againft the force of rea^an and experience. A doubt of its dangerous
tendency maybe ftarted ; but the fceptical would be loth, I conceive, to have
their doubts removed either in their own perfons or thofe of their children.
Letfuch, too, take care, left the dignity of medicine be hurt by fliewing the

difficulty

( i6 )

to medicines on the principle of corrofton : thus, for in*
ftance, if you rub powder of burnt hartftiorn ever fo littJe,
or, even, let it lie fome time in a bell-metal mortar, an
obvious blacknefs will fucceed, efpecially if it be moiftened
with any liquor.

There can hardly be a doubt that pulvls an compofttuSy
pulvls } fcammonio compofttus^ pulvis e fena compofttus^ pilula
ecphraSlica^ pilula faponaceee^ and other alkaline and acid
preparations are frequently made in bell-metal mortars, as
they only are in general ufe, and at hand on all occafions.
I will not here make a comment. Let candour acknow-
ledge, let humanity exprefs, what muft be the confe-
quence of this procedure. Suffer not, then, fuch dange-
rous inftruments to be feen in (hops, that ftiould be the re*
pofitories of friendly medicines, prepared with confcien*
tious care.*

Having

difficulty of obtaining ^o^rzwe proof of many medicinal effefts.—— That all
things called Poisons are relativtly poifonous wiU be readily allowed j but
this confideration ftrengthens every argument in fupport of the moft cautious
and circumfpeft conduft.

* The learned members of the College of Phyficians, now engaged in
a revifal of their Pharmacopeia, are refpeftfuUy called upon to pay attention
to the Facts contained in this paper.

( 17 )

Having upon fa£ls condemned hell-vietal^ it will be re-
quired, What other kind of mortars will anfwer the pur-
pofes of apothecaries and chemifts ? The reply is ready ;
Iron. The experience of feveral gentlerrien has proved
that mortars of this metal anfwer perfedUy well. It may
be objefted, that iron is apt to contradt ruft. But let me
bbferve, that attention to the foulnefs of bell-metal and brafs,
is more necellary than to that of iron, as negleft in
the one cafe would be exceflively dangerous, in the other
hardly more than an inelegant omiffion. But caft iron is
really lefs fufceptible of the impreffions of the air than bell-
metal. In all refpeiSls it has the advantage of it, and is be-
yond comparifon cheaper.*

Iron then, a perfeiSlly innocent metal, fliould be the
fubftitute to one of allowed virulence. f And what folid
objeftion can prevent the regulation from immediately ta-

C Jcing

* The Committee of the LbN don Hospital have ordered Iron mortars

to be purchafed for the ufe of their elaboratory and difpenfary, and their

ptefent bell- metal ones to be fold, from a reprefentatjon of the fafts in thefe
pages.

■f There is a wde difference between the judicloudy-appropriated ufe of
any thing endued with great medicinal power, and the uncertain and indif-
criminate application of the fame thin^.— To make amends, in fome mea-

fure^

( i8 )

king place ? The uneafinefs that ever attends an uncer-
tain praftice fhould be a powerful Incentive to apothecaries
to make the reform. The fatisfa£tion arifmg from being
afliiredly on the fafe fide, would, to feeling minds, be a
fufficient reward.

But the evil ftated is not the only one of the kind. Cop-
per or brafs pans, Sec, ought never to be ufed in prepa-
ring of medicines. Yet it is to be feared that eleSiarium t
cajjia^ and eleSiarium letiitivum, the extracts, and fyrups,
are frequently prepared in copper veflels ; and, fometimes,
poffibly, rob baccarurn fambuci, extra£ium cicuta, and the
fyrups of acefcent fruits. Is tartarum emeticum ever boiled
in copper veflels ? I lately faw fome unguentum album of
a greenifti colour ; and, inquiring into the reafon of this
appearance, was candidly informed, it had arifen from be-
ing made in a copper pan.

Let

fure, for the hard expreflions ufed againft copper, I fiiall obferve, that
vitnolum cceruleum has been long experienced to be a noble tonic medicine.
There are many cafes which require the moft powerfully tonic means, in
which, at the fame time, coriex Peru-viatius is, for various reafons, inadmifli-
ble. In fuch, this medicine has been found of the greateft fervice. It
feems alfo to alfift the urinary fscretion, and the funitions of the abforbwit
fyftem.

( 19 )

Let the operator take care left he fall into another evil,
I have heard an able phyfician fay " he was fearful of or-
« dering oxymel^ left it fliould have been boiled in a glafed
« veflel, and his patient fhould unfortunately take lead in
" folution in vegetable acid."

Iron and tin might, it is imagined, on every occa-^
iionht fafely employed. Pewter muft, in fome inftances,
be hazardous ; for it confifts, I am informed, of tin and
antimony; and regulus of antmony, in folution in acids,
conftitutes a powerful preparation ; hence tartarum emeti"
cum^ Sec*

But a field of fpeculation of danger opens upon me,
which I fhall leave to others, of more abilities, to invef^
tigate ; whofe province it more particularly is ; and who
may have power to corredt the evils inveftigated.

* The Pjswteb, of which many utenfils arc made, fuch as the worm,
and other parts, of Hills ; wine meafures ; apothecaries meafures ; ordinary
fpoons ; &c. is reduced with Lead. This was firft fuggefted" to me by an
experiment with fome juice of lemon, which had been a while in a pewter
veflel ; and has been iince fatisfa£lorily confirmed by a candid and hu-
mane manufafturer.— Who can refledt on the powerful efFefts of lead, when
diffoived in vegetable acid, and not be ftricken forcibly with the danger that
;nay arifc from the incautious ufe of many pewter articles !

FINIS.